Meh. Most people don't even know the mechanisms involved in creatine supplementation. Creatine supplements are the PRODUCTS of the following reaction: ADP + PCr <--> ATP + Creatine, modulated via creatine kinase. A near equilibrium equation with an increase in products (Creatine) will shift the reaction to the left (Phosphocreatine) to balance the equation. Therefore, increasing phosphocreatine stores. And, in general, only trained muscle fibers benefit from supplementation.

The objectives of this study were to determine the cause of the crystallization in a large volume creatine supplement solution made from effervescent powders containing di-creatine citrate, and to characterize these crystals using thermal analyses and x-ray diffractometry. Creatine effervescent powders were dissolved in deionized water (pH 6.2) and stored both at room temperature (RT) (25°C) and refrigerated condition (4°C) over a period of 45 days. Creatine concentration was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Intrinsic dissolution and saturated solubility of creatine, creatine monohydrate, and di-creatine citrate in water were determined and compared. Crystal growth was detected only in the refrigerated samples on the seventh day of storage. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed that the crystals formed were of creatine monohydrate. Ninety percent creatine degradation was observed within 45 days for RT samples. However, at refrigerated condition this degradation was 80% within the same time period. The pH of the RT samples also increased from 3.6 to 4.5 during storage. No such increase was observed in the case of refrigerated samples. The intrinsic dissolution rate constants of the compounds decreased in the following order: di-creatine citrate > creatine > creatine monohydrate. In conclusion, di-creatine citrate used in effervescent formulation dissociates to creatine in aqueous solution and eventually crystallizes out as creatine monohydrate. Significant decrease in solubility and effect of pH contribute to this crystallization process.

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J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2002 Jul 31;29(5):939-45.
A simple LC method with UV detection for the analysis of creatine and creatinine and its application to several creatine formulations.
Dash AK, Sawhney A.

The objective of this study was to develop a simple and sensitive LC method for the determination of creatine and creatinine in various creatine supplement formulations. The chromatographic system comprised of a LC-600 pump, SCL-6B system controller, and SPD-6AV detector (Shimadzu, Japan). The mobile phase consisted of 0.045 M ammonium sulfate in water. The chromatographic separation was achieved at ambient temperature on a Betabasic C-18 column (250 x 4.6 mm, Keystone Sci.). The flow rate was maintained at 0.75 ml/min and effluents are monitored at 205 nm. 4-(2-Aminoethyl)benzene sulfonamide was used as an internal standard (IS). This method required less than 7 min of chromatographic time. The standard curves were linear over the concentration range of 1-100 microg/ml for creatine and 2-100 microg/ml for creatinine, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSD) for the within-day and day-to-day precision for creatine were within 1.0-4.6 and 2.2-4.7%, respectively. The RSD for the accuracy of creatine assay was in the range of 2.4-4.7%. The RSD values for the within-day precision, day-to-day precision and accuracy for creatinine validation were 1.7-4.4, 2.3-5.4 and 2.4-4.8%, respectively. This method was used to determine: (i) the creatine concentration in various marketed products; (ii) saturated solubility of various creatine salts; and (iii) stability of creatine in aqueous solution. In conclusion, a simple and sensitive LC method with UV detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of creatine and creatinine in formulations. Di-creatine citrate salt showed a higher aqueous solubility (at 25 degrees C) as compared to creatine and creatine monohydrate. Some of the over-the-counter (OTC) products tested contained a very low level of creatine in contrast to their label claim. Substantial conversion of creatine into creatinine was noticed in liquid formulation.

I was using Recompadrol and slin-sane during my bulking and it was my first time taking insulin mimickers. I felt that Recompadrol kicked my creatine to the net step. But now I'm going to start using Humulin R so lets see if that's going to take my creatine mono to the next step. I am going to start using creapure actually.

P.S. CL makes one the greatest tasting creatine products EVER! If they were cheaper I would run them 365 but thanks to college I can't :/

I had only the 80 serving one and I've truly missed it. But right now I'm taking anabolic ignite pre-workout supplement and it has a good dose of creatine nitrate in it. So I'm thinking of taking just normal creatine during non-workout days and take ignite during my workout days.

I had only the 80 serving one and I've truly missed it. But right now I'm taking anabolic ignite pre-workout supplement and it has a good dose of creatine nitrate in it. So I'm thinking of taking just normal creatine during non-workout days and take ignite during my workout days.

The 80 serving Green Mag will last over 3 months. Once at saturation you only need to take the 5g dose ~4-5 times per week to maintain saturation. So take it workout days and you easily will go over 3 months of usage from one tub.

You even have quite a few servings you can take on off days just for the taste and you'll still have over 3 months worth